Game



Dec. 4, 1934.

P. D. BROWN 1,982,633

GAME I Filed March 15, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig 3 5e INVENTOR- Puul 0- 15mm ATTORNEYJ.

Dec. 4, 1934.

P. D. BROWN 1,982,633

GAME

Filed March 15, 1932 2 sheets- 5mm 2 INVENTOR. ?A\.l| D Brow ATTORNEYS,

'25 competing devices.

Patented Dec. 4, 1934 PATENT o 'FF -lcs GAME Paul D. Brown, Garden City, N. Y.

Application March 15,

13 Claims.

This invention relates to game boards and mechanisms for indoor use.

The object of the invention is a game board or mechanism of simple construction and operation for use on tables and in restricted spaces in playing competitive games and the like, such for example as horse racing. A further object of the invention is a game board of circular formation having a competitive race course thereon of special shape and construction and being adapted to be readily operated either by hand or by power, depending upon the size and construction, to cause the horses or' devices simulating racing articles to traverse the race track in a manner and at a speed depending upon mere chance. A further object of the invention is a board of this character having a generally spiral path or track from the center outwards, but having intermediate parts causing the racing devices to temporarily follow paths other than the true spiral paths and enabling other competing devices to either passor be retarded in the spiral loop depending upon the interference caused by the structure of the track which is interposed by A further object of the invention is a game board of this character having no relatively moving parts or mechanisms. Further objects of the invention will hereinafter appear.

For a better understanding of the invention reference may be had to the drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 shows a plan view of a device embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is an elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of a section of a track;

Fig. 4 is an elevational view of a device embodying the invention and power driven;

' Fig.5 is an end view of the gearing; and

Fig. '6 is an enlarged view of a device used to simulate a horse.

Referring to the drawings, I have illustrated my invention as embodied in a circular board or disclO mounted on an inclined peg 12, thelatter 5 having a point 13 resting in a base 14 with a V- shaped bearing for the reception of the point 13 of the peg '12. The peg 12 is journaled in the socket 15 formed on the bottom of the disc 10.

I The disc 10 is adapted to be wabbled about the surface 16 on the table, floor or the like, only one point of the periphery (Fig. 1) of the disc 10 being in engagement with the surface at any one time, and the top 'ofpeg l2 describing a small circle as it rotates about the base 14. The board or disc 10 may be given an impulseto cause itto" 1932, Serial No." 598,896

wabble about the bearing 14 and this wabbling will continue due to inertia for a period, depending upon the friction and inertia of the moving parts. The inertia may be increased'by making the rim 1'? of the disc, of substantial weight as compared to the remainder of the disc construction, givinga sort of fly-wheel efiect. This may also be done by securing a suitable ring 30 of lead or other heavy metal to the underside of. thedisc 10 adjacent to the periphery thereof.

The disc is provided with a generally spiral track from the center outward, indicated by the dotted line 20, which path, assuming it were possible to do so, the horse would travel from start to finish, whereas the paths they tend to follow are indicated by the arrows. It is defined by the walls 18. The track walls are formed with lateral deflectors 19 onthe outside of the track to cause the racing devices to be deflected from the truly spiral path and oppos'itethese deflecting points are provided chambers Jor recesses of various shapes and character to accommodate .the horses which are deflected sufliciently to enter the same and the horsesare delayed or retarded in these recesses for periods determined by chance, some being delayed a greater time than others and thereby enabling certain of the horses to pass others at that point- For example, starting from the, center 21, thefirst deflector 19'encountered will tend to d'efiectthe horse's into the chamber designated 23, this being of oval shape as indicated and formed at one end by the curved wall 18 of the track and at the other end by the obstruction wall '22 of the special construction shown. A. second and third retarding chamber of likecharacter follow chamber 23. A fourth retarding chamber is indicated at 27 formed by the rear obstructing wall '26 and the forward. curved directing wall :28, this chamber 27 being' adapted to receive horses :or men'deflected from the main spiral path -by crowding and the like, due to the narrowing of the path at this-point by the directing wall 28.

Several chambers :of like character to those described follow until the horses arrive at ob struction-34' where they are deflected intochamber 33. formed by retaining wa1136 and directing wall 33. Leading from chamber 33 is a passage 35, wide enough-for only one horse. This and a passage 37 on-the other side of obstruction 34 converge at exit 39, which permits one horse at time to enter chamber 40 where they areagain trapped due to the passage 41 leading therefrom being narrowed to permit only one horse at a time to pass through." "In like manne'r'the sueceeding chambers have exits only wide enough for one horse until chamber is reached where the exit is divided into a double passage by the obstruction 47. Another series of chambers having narrowed exits follows until chamber 49 is reached, where, due to obstructions 51 and 53, the horses are deflected in various directions. Chambers 55 and 57 are oppositely disposed and reduced to accommodate but a single horse. When the horse escapes from these it is thrown into chamber 59 and then into chamber 61 where it will lead directly into the home stretch 63, the width of same being equal to that of one of the devices used to represent the horses or men.

The home stretch is hollowed out so that once a horse enters it can not leave and it is evident that the sequence in which they enter will determine their relative placing at the completion of the race.

Any suitable device may be used to represent the horses, one form being shown in Fig. 6 and comprises an elongated tumbler 56 of thin metal with a ball bearing 53 enclosed therein. As the board wabbles or rotates the tumbler 56 tends to tumbleend over end as indicated in Fig. 3 due to the shifting of the enclosed ball bearing.

In playing the game, a series of tumblers 56, suitably colored or numbered to distinguish one from'another, are placed in the center of the board 10. When the board is set in motion the opening of this cup finally is towards the lower edge, at which time the horses roll out and proceed towards stop number 19 which throws the leading horses into cup 23. During the jamming up'of the horses at this point, one or two of them part of the roll until the power is such that they pour out of the cups 23 and 25 and proceed on their Way. For example, we will say that numbers 1, 2 and 3 are leading as the horses pour into cup 23. The following horses coming into the cup hold them against what is the lower wall at that part of the roll. As the board rolls about the horses move to the other end of the cup and it is very likely that one of those horses which lead into it will bespilled out into the passage through which they entered the cup. With the next exerting of power those latter horses to enter cup 23 may leave it first. Another example is that one or two of the horses may not be able to reach cup 27 on a downward roll. As the board turns about they will be thrown back into pocket 27. If pocket 27 is filled other horses trying to return, to it will be thrown out into passage 30. On the next roll of the board those horses held in cup 27 will proceed to cup 31 before those held in passage 30. In this manner the horses proceed around the spiral track and a considerable change of position is steadily taking place. It is not infrequent for a horse to. be the fourth or fifth to arrive at a cup, and, because of the shufi fling that occurs, be the first one out of it. It

also occurs quite frequently that a horse will get into one of these cups, andthe position of the capsule being wrong as it rests in the cup, the weight within the capsule fails to exert the proper pressure, the horse may wobble about in the cup for two or three rolls of the board before he finally is able to proceed on his way. It is obvious that their path or direction of motion, when once the disc is under way at a constant speed, cannot be controlled by the operator of the device but is entirely due to mere chance resulting from a combined force of gravity and centrifugal motion. The movement of the board is continued until the horses have entered the home stretch or enough have entered to determine the winner and those which placed.

A second modification of the invention diagrammatically indicating a motor, operating means is shown in Fig. 4. The surface of the disc 10 is identical to that of Fig. 1, but an an nular gear has been secured to the underside thereof to provide for motor operation. The peg 62' journaled in the disc 10 and V-shaped at the bottom to rotate in the recess of the base 14, carries the driving motor 61, the weight of which keeps the peg and disc inclined with the pencil point of the periphery slightly above the support 16. An annular gear 65 is also cut in the base 14 and disposed between it and the gear 60 is a train of gears 66, 67, and 68, carried by the motor shaft 69, and the fixed spurs '70 and '11 respectively, the idlers 67 and 68 meshing with the annular gears 60 and 65 respectively. ,The motor 61 is connected to a source of electrical energy (not shown) through the lead wire 72 and its starting and stopping controlled by the switch 73. Power is transmitted through a series of sliding contacts between the base 14 and peg 62, but, as they form no part of the present invention, no description is made of them. If the motor operates to turn the gear 66 in a counterclockwise direction, the gears 67 and 68 will turn clockwise but travel counter-clockwise in the annular gears 60 and 65, rotating and wabbling the board in like manner to that described for Fig. 1, changing its position as indicated in Fig. 4 by the dotted lines.

Two modifications of my invention have now been described and it is understood that the invention is not to be limited to the particularconfiguration of the spiral path which constitutes the track, it being possible to vary the obstructions and deflecting points as desired and obtain the same general results.

I claim:

1. A game board of the character described comprising a disc having a generally spiral track thereon with deflectors therein and means for maintaining the disc in an inclined position whereby the same may be wabbled to cause devices simulating horses to traverse said spiral path, said track being adapted to allow the devices to simultaneously travel therein and change their relative positions with respect to one another.

2. A game board of the character described comprising a disc having a generally spiral track thereon with deflectors therein and means for maintaining the disc in an inclined position whereby the same may be manipulated to cause devices simulating horses to traverse said spiral track in response to centrifugal and gravity forces, said track being adapted to allow the devices to simultaneously travel therein and change their relative positions with respect to one another.

3. A game board of the character described comprising a disc having a generally spiral track thereon with deflectors and retarding chambers therein and means for maintaining the disc in an inclined position whereby the same may be manipulated to cause devices simulating horses to traverse said spiral track in response to centrifugal and gravity forces, said track being adapted to allow the devices tosimultaneously travel therein and change their relative positions with respect to one another.

4. A game board of the character described comprising a disc having a generally spiral track thereon with deflectors, retarding chambers and obstructions therein and means for maintaining the disc in an inclined position whereby the same may be manipulated to cause devices simulating horses to traverse said spiral track in response to centrifugal and gravity forces, said track being adapted to allow the devices to simultaneously travel therein and change their relative positions with respect to one another.

5. A game board of the character described comprising a disc having a generally spiral track thereon with retarding chambers therein and means for maintaining the disc in an inclined position whereby the same may be wabbled to cause devices simulating horses to traverse said spiral path and traverse said retarding chambers when deflected from the track, said track being adapted to allow the devices to simultaneously travel therein and change their relative positions with respect to one another.

6. A game board of the character described comprising a disc having a generally spiral track thereon and means for maintaining the disc in an inclined position whereby the same may be wabbled to cause devices simulating horses to traverse said spiral track in response to centrifugal and gravity forces, said track being adapted to allow the devices to travel therein and change their relative positions with respect to one another.

7. A game board of the character described comprising a disc, a spiral track of irregular contour carried on the disc, devices simulating horses traveling in the track, a member supporting the disc in an inclined position and wabbable thereon to cause the devices to travel in the track, said track being adapted to allow the devices to simultaneously travel therein and change their relative positions with respect to one another.

8. A game board of the character described comprising a disc, a spiral track of irregular contour carried by the disc, a plurality of devices simulating horses traveling in the track, a member holding the disc in an inclined position and power means for rotating said member whereby simultaneously the disc is wabbled to cause the devices td travel in the track, said track being adapted to allow the devices to simultaneously travel therein and change their relative positions with respect to one another.

9. A game board of the character described comprising a disc having a generally spiral track thereon, a plurality of devices simulating horses traveling in the track, an annular gear on the bottom of the disc, a member supporting the disc in an inclined position, the upper extremity of said member being journaled in the base of the disc and the lower extremity rotatable in a fixed bearing, a second annular gear carried on said bearing, a motor carried on said member and having a train of gears interposed between the annular gears for rotating said member whereby the disc is wabbled to cause the devices to travel in the track.

10. A game board unit comprising a disc, a wabbling support having its lower end pivotally engaging a fixed point of a main support and having its upper end engaging in fixed angular relation and supporting said disc in inclined position and disposed at right angles thereto in all positions of the disc and a generally spiral track on said disc extending from the center outwards whereby when the edge of the disc is progressively lowered and elevated said support describes a conical surface and devices disposed in said spiral track traverse same from the center outwardly upon the progressive lowering and elevating of the edge.

11. The combination according to claim 10 wherein the periphery of the disc is weighted to give it a fly wheel effect when the disc is progressively lowered and elevated.

12. The combination according to claim 10 including power means for rotating said support whereby the circumference of the disc is progressively lowered and elevated.

13. A game board unit of the character set forth in claim 10 wherein the support is a peg having a fixed angular relation with respect to said disc at the top and engaging the center of said disc with the lower end resting on a supporting surface and permitting the progressive lowering and elevating of the disc.

PAUL D. BROWN. 

